1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sheet feeding device and an image forming apparatus, and more particularly, to a configuration that drives a sheet feeding portion.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional image forming apparatus such as a printer, a copying machine, or a facsimile equipment includes a sheet feeding device that feeds a sheet set in a sheet stacking portion using a feed roller that is a sheet feeding portion and supplies the sheet to an image forming portion. In order to prevent duplicate feeding of feeding two or more sheets when a sheet is fed by the feed roller, this sheet feeding device includes a separation portion that separates sheets one by one.
As such a sheet feeding device, for example, there is a device that feeds sheets one by one by performing control of one rotation of a feed roller by using a toothed gear, a toothed gear abutting unit, a solenoid, and the like (see U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/225053 A1). Sheets fed according to one rotation of the feed roller are separated one by one by a separation portion and then are delivered by the separation portion to a sheet conveying unit located on the downstream in the sheet feeding direction so as to be conveyed.
However, in a conventional sheet feeding device, there are cases where a feed roller configuring the sheet feeding roller or the separation portion slips. In such cases, the control of one rotation of the feed roller ends with a sheet not being in contact with the sheet conveying portion, and accordingly, a no-feed jam occurs. In order to prevent the occurrence of such a no-feed jam, the conveyance amount of the sheet may be increased. However, in order to increase the conveyance amount of the sheet according to the control of one rotation of the feed roller, it is necessary to increase the size of the toothed gear and the like, and thus, it is difficult to save the space and reduce the cost.
The present invention is devised in consideration of such a phenomenon, and it is desirable to provide a sheet feeding device and an image forming apparatus capable of saving the space and reducing the cost and capable of reliably feeding a sheet.